Jennifer Sage Advice Blog – Indoor Cycling Association

Meet Kim Donnelly, the owner of the indoor cycling studio Cykl in Toronto. Kim contacted me a little over two years ago when she was setting up her new studio saying she wanted to make sure all of her instructors read my eBook, Keep it Real. She said she wanted to offer lactate threshold field tests outlined in the eBook. At the time, she was one of only a few studios offering field tests like this. Cykl was establishing itself as a cutting edge indoor cycling facility focused on authentic riding with authentic training!

As a fan of the Real Ryder bikes, I love to see a studio like this use them in the way they were meant to be used – like a real bike. Kudos to Cykl

A few months ago I posted a video by an instructor in Florida that I thought was an excellent sample of a class. Today on Facebook, this instructor Ramiro Morejon, posted one of the most inspirational comments I’ve seen about his growth as a Spinning® coach. He gave me permission to repost it here for you, and I am doing so in the hopes that you might be inspired to seek growth like Ramiro has. He has said that coaching indoor cycling and inspiring his students has changed him as a person. He’s about to compete in his second Olympic distance triathlon in a few weeks, so he is an example of someone who has a passion both indoors and out.

Here is Ramiro’s reflection on being a coach

This morning I put up a post describing 14 Spinning® / cycling instructors you want to make sure you are not. Two of the undesirable instructor-types are Sloppy Sam who wears baggy shorts, a cotton t-shirt and does not wear cycling shoes, and the other was Sexy Sadie who wears very provocative clothing and refuses to wear cycling shorts because it doesn’t show off her curvy glutes (and probably has a line-up of men with their tongues hanging out in the front row). My message was that your professionalism should dictate what kind of clothes you wear as an instructor. Your chosen outfit says something about who you are and how much you respect your audience, long before you even get on the bike. Perception is everything! Whether you

Read this (sort of) funny article: Top Ten signs That You Have Run Into a Bad Group Fitness Instructor.

Only takes a little imagination to transform these descriptions into an indoor cycling class instead of an aerobics instructor. Have you met these instructors? They aren’t you, are they?

Nope, because you are the opposite. You are an empowering coach who is the following:

• you are concerned more about your students’ workout than your own
• while you correct your students for poor form, you do it diplomatically and with empathy, ensuring that they understand the reasons for correct technique
• you celebrate any students who might be more fit than you (because it certainly IS possible!)
• you find that balance between blaring your music and barely being able to hear it, playing music that inspires your class
• you know when to talk and when to shut

Spotify is a wonderful online music tool but so many instructors are confused on how amazing of a tool it can be. While you can immediately listen to great music and learn to create your own playlists pretty quickly, it can take a long time to learn how to use it to your best advantage as an indoor cycling instructor.

What if you could learn it all right now at a live online webinar?

Julz Arney, Schwinn Master Trainer, is going to help you do that. She is putting on a webinar for instructors on how to use Spotify.

May 30 at 6:30PST/9:30EST.

Here is the description of the webinar:

You search and buy music on iTunes. You discover and play free music on Pandora. Well, what if iTunes and Pandora had a

I love a powerful headline like that! 🙂

That is the headline of an article on Livescience.com on a study published in the May 15th issue of the Journal of Physiology on whether consuming a lot of high-fructose corn syrup affects how your brain works. And the answer they came up with is that yes, indeed, consuming a lot of high-fructose corn syrup “alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information”. But the good news is that “adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”

Make sure to read this article and share it with your students.

As instructors and coaches guiding our students and clients to better health through exercise, remember to gently remind them that their health doesn’t end at the studio walls – it actually begins in the kitchen!

This is a reprint of a newsletter that ICA member Bill Roach sends out to his cycling students. He’s been doing this for several years and has become a master at it. In his newsletter, he lets them know about upcoming events, subs, and schedule changes. Primarily however, he educates them on fitness, nutrition, and cycling training related information such as lactate threshold, heart rate training, the need for recovery, contraindicated moves, proper technique, breathing, etc. He’s reposted many of my free articles for his students’ benefit. (You can do that too – just contact me!)

Bill is the one who has spearheaded bringing me out for a weekend of workshops to their YMCA in Waukee, Iowa this coming weekend. If you are anywhere near Des Moines, Iowa, we would love you to join us. Click

Come ride and learn with Jennifer in Cincinnati, Ohio June 1-3. ICA members receive 10% off of all sessions. Anyone signing up for all four sessions receive the eBook Keep it Real as a gift.

Cincinnati, Ohio
June 1-3, at Anderson Health Plex
7495 State Road
Cincinnati, OH 45255
Call Vickie Magliano for directions 513-404-4168

The Sessions
Fri June 1, Alpe d’Huez (Master Class)
Sat June 2: Why Should I Keep it Real? (2-hour workshop)
Sat June 2: Mastering the Art and Science of HR Training (4-hr workshop and ride)
Sun June 3: Cause and Effect – the Relationship Between Cadence and Resistance (2-hr workshop and ride)
Sun June 3: Effective Intervals – Adaptations, Formats and Cueing (2 hr workshop and ride)
Click

I just returned from a cycling vacation in Hawaii where we were a part of future virtual ride DVD for Global Ride. Here is a video that Peter Guellard, Cycling Fusion/Global Ride videographer extraordinaire, put together of the trip. You can see the camaraderie, excitement and fun that we had. There were two separate groups over two weeks. The first on the Big Island of Hawaii, the second week in Kauai (my husband Jeff and I were in Kauai). After watching this video, you might ask how you can be a part of such a fun trip? I’ll tell you how…

This was one of the most amazing vacations I’ve ever had, and I’m no stranger to bike tours. I own a bicycle tour company

Another guest blog by Gene Nacey of Cycling Fusion, from his new blog Evidence Based Cycling

Until I took the red pill (see initial post), I spent 95% of my working life in healthcare; specifically workflow methods and technology. As I got more and more involved on the clinical side of the equation, I began to learn about a distinct approach to the real life practice of delivering care to the patient called Evidence Based Medicine. In some ways, it looked to put to bed some of the same issues I feel burdened with as I continue to teach Indoor Cycling Instructors and coach competitive riders; that of competing opinions or treatment protocols for the same set of symptoms or circumstances.

In the